ATK hold in-form Jamshedpur FC

ATK produced a solid defensive display to hold an in-form Jamshedpur FC to a 1-1 draw in an Indian Super League match here on Sunday.

Sergio Cidoncha gave Jamshedpur the lead with a 35th-minute free kick before Manuel Lanzarote curled a corner directly into the net at the stroke of half-time to level the scores.

ATK’s defence was called into action as early as the sixth minute when Gerson Vieira’s headed clearance thwarted Cidoncha from getting his head to a Michael Soosairaj’s cross.

Cidoncha had another chance to score when a rebound fell in front of his feet after Soosairaj’s effort was initially blocked. But ATK had plenty of players inside the box to keep out the forward’s attempt.

The Spaniard finally gave Jamshedpur the lead in the 35th minute. Pronay Halder’s foul on Cidoncha just outside the box allowed the forward to curl the resulting free-kick into the bottom right corner with goalkeeper Arindam at fault for not reading the bounce.

ATK equalised against the run of play on the stroke of half-time. Lanzarote’s in-swinging corner flew directly into the net.

BFC face Pune

Bengaluru FC will look to get their travels in the league off to the perfect start when they take on FC Pune City here on Monday.

With a win and a draw from their opening two fixtures at home, the Blues hope to keep pace with leaders NorthEast United FC as they face the uphill challenge of playing four games away from home on the spin.